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Abstract
This thesis used the mode of processing framework to examine whether the way positive material is processed by dysphoric and depressed individuals has consequences for affect, cognition and memory features. While engagement in positive activities is a central component of many psychological treatments for depression, empirical studies examining the impact of the way positive material is processed have generated mixed results. Previous research has found that adopting an abstract thinking style, akin to rumination, when processing negative material and mood states has maladaptive consequences relative to concrete processing. In Studies 1, 2 and 3, this paradigm was applied to the processing of different types of positive material in low and high dysphoric participants as well as a clinical sample. Findings indicated that neither processing mode nor the interaction between processing mode and dysphoria had differential consequences for affect or memory features. However, Study 2 provided some evidence that abstract processing may have had maladaptive cognitive consequences relative to concrete processing. Studies 4a, 4b and 5 broadened the focus of the thesis to examine other variables related to rumination. An opportunistic analysis of a subsample of participants from Study 1 and the sample included in Study 3 enabled an investigation of self-reported tendencies to engage in positive rumination and dampening (Studies 4a and 4b) as well as generalisation (Study 5). Dampening and negative generalisation were associated with dysphoria, while positive generalisation was inversely associated with dysphoria. Self-focused positive rumination and positive generalisation were also associated with higher positive affect in response to experimentally-induced positive experiences. In summary, findings converge on the conclusion that abstract and concrete processing of positive material, as operationalised in the current studies, do not have a differential impact upon affect. In addition, the thesis provides preliminary evidence that a number of cognitive tendencies related to abstract processing represent possible treatment targets in depression. Results provide a reassuring clinical message with regards to dysphoric individuals’ capacity to experience emotional benefit from positive material. Interpreting these studies in the context of the broader literature highlights the need for definitional clarity regarding the constructs of abstract and concrete processing.